Apparatus for spraying crown caps and the like



' March 24 1942;

H. A; FINK APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING CROWN GAPS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 21,1940 Patented 24, 3%42 APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING CROWN CAPS AND THE LIKEHenry A. Fink, Pelham Manor, N. Y., assignor to Continental Can Company,Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February21, 1940, Serial No. 320,187

2 Claims.

The invention relates to an apparatus for spraying crown caps and thelike.

An object of .the invention is to provide an apparatus for sprayingcrown caps wherein means is associated with a spraying nozzle forconfining the spray to a certain desired area of the cap.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove type comprising as a unit, a nozzle and a hood associatedtherewith, said hood being concentric with the nozzle and having meansfor centering the cap and controlling the area thereof which is to besprayed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forspraying crown caps and the like comprising in combination a sprayingnozzle and a hood associated therewith, said hood having a portionthereof adapted-to surround the nozzle, and a seat on the inner facethereof adapted to engage and overlie the flange of a cap for centeringthe cap and controlling the area of the cap which is to be sprayed.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part behereinafter more fully disclosed.

The sole figure of the drawing is an enlarged vertical sectional viewthrough a spraying apparatus embodying the improvements, showing thesame in contact with a cap and the spray issuing from the nozzle forcoating the cap.-.

Crown caps are usually manufactured from sheet metal which is coatedwith lacquer. In the die-shaping of the cap, the edge portion thereofThe apparatus includes a spray nozzle which is connected to a spraypip'e through which the medium to be sprayedon the cap is supplied undersufflcient pressure for causing a jet of the coat- 7 ing medium to issuefrom the discharge opening therein. Also associated with the nozzle is ahood which is rigidly attached to the nozzle and to be sprayed. Thisseat is so disposed that when the hood is placed down over the invertedcrown cap, the extreme edge portions of the crown cap will be contactedwith by said seat,

and this confines the area which will be coated with the spray issuingfrom the nozzle to the interior of the cap.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, an ordinary crown cap with acrimped flange is indicated at 2 and the cork-liner therefor at 3. Asshown, the cork liner is shown with the usual foil spot 4. The purposeof the present invention is to apply a coating of wax, lacquer or thelike to the interior of the crown cap so as to cover the liner for thecap and the skirt and flange portion of the cap, particularly in theregion where there is any chance of the contents of the containercontacting therewith. The apparatus includes asupply pipe 5 which may beof any desired conis crimped or corrugated so as to form holding lugswhen the cap is attached to the container. During this die-shapingoperation, the enamel is sometimes fractured or scratched at theportions thereof which are sharply bent. It is often desirable to applya coating of wax, lacquer or the like to the interior surface of thecrown cap in order to fill and cover any scratched or broken places inthe lacquer coating initially applied thereto. Cork inserts are oftenused in conjunction with a crown cap for sealing the container, and itis sometimes desirable to apply a coating of wax or lacquer to the corkinsert, even though it be provided with a spot, so as to insure that thecontents of the container do not come in contactwith the cork and havean ofi-fiavor imparted thereto.

The present invention relates broadly to an apparatus for spraying acoating medium on the interior of a crown cap for the purpose ofcovering a sealing pad when used, and for insuring that any scratches orruptures in the inner lacquer-coated face of the cap are well covered.

struction. As shown. this pipe is provided with a flange 6. The nozzle 1is secured to the flange end of the pipe. Between the pipe and thenozzle is a gasket 8. The nozzle 1 is provided with a discharge opening9. Surrounding the nozzle 1 is a hood Ill. The hood is bored asindicated at H and shaped so as to provide a seat I! for the nozzle. Thebored portion of the hood is threaded as indicated at l3 and a sleeve l6threaded into the hood bears against the flange 6 of the pipe 5, andthus the nozzle is forced against the seat on the hood and the hood andnozzle secured. together as a rigid unit. The hood projects forward ofthe nozzle and is providedwith a recess l5 adapted to receive the capwhich is to be coated. There is a seat l6 at the inner end of the recesswhich contacts with the extreme outer edge portion of the skirt of the Icap. Thus it is that the cap is centered relative .to the spray nozzle.The inner wall ll of the hood is cone-shaped and dimensioned so as tointersect the nozzle back from the discharge opening 9. This wallextends to the flange of the cap,and thus together with the nozzle andthe cap forms a substantially closed chamber 18. As shown in thedrawing, the coating material issues in the form of a jet which iscone-shaped, and the position of the cap relative to the dischargeopening of the nozzle is such that the spray jet will spread so as tocover the entire inner surface of the cap, extending out on to theflange of the cap and the portion thereof which is crimped. The coatingmaterial will, therefore, completely cover the cork insert, the spot ifit is used, and the flanges of the cap.

It will be obvious that by changing the shape of the hood and theposition of the nozzle relative to the cap that the area of the capwhich is supplied with the coating may be varied. It may be restrictedso as to cover only the cork insert or the region of the spot and may beapplied to the cork insert so as to form the equivalent of a spot whichwill prevent the contents of the container from contacting with the cap.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and thearrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

.Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An apparatus for spraying crown caps and 30 the like comprising incombination a supply pipe a spray nozzle and a hood, means for rigidlyattaching said nozzle and hood to said pipe, said hood having a portionthereof surrounding the nozzle and extending outwardly therefrom, saidhood being shaped to provide a concentric memher having formed on itsinner face adjacent the end thereof a seat adapted to engage and overliethe flange of a crown cap for centering the cap relative to the nozzleand controlling the area of the cap which is to be sprayed.

2. An apparatus for spraying crown caps and the like comprising incombination a supply pipe flanged outwardly at the end thereof, a spraynozzle seated against the outer face of said flange, a hood surroundingthe nozzle and shaped to seat against the nozzle, a collar on said pipeadapted to engage the inner face of the flange of the pipe and having athreaded connection with said hood, whereby the hood, nozzle and pipeare rigidly clamped together, said hood having a portion thereof adaptedto surround the nozzle and extending outwardly therefrom, said hoodbeing shaped to provide a concentric member having formed on its innerface adjacent the end thereof a seat adapted to engage and overlie-theflange of a crown cap for centering the cap relative to the nozzle andcontrolling the area of the cap which is to be sprayed.

, HENRY A. FINK.

